2 killed, 20 injured in blast near mosque in Afghanistan's capital

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - At least two people were killed and several others were injured in a blast near a mosque adjacent to the Interior Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, on Wednesday.

According to Abdul Nafi Takor, the ministry's spokesman, the blast occurred in the mosque located outside the ministry complex.

"There is no truth to the claim that the explosion occurred inside the ministry complex's mosque. It happened outside, where our employees also go to pray," he said in a video statement.

The Emergency NGO in Kabul confirmed that the blast killed two people and injured 20 others.

"After a bomb attack in a mosque at the Interior Ministry, EMERGENCY NGO Surgical Centre has received 20 patients – 2 were already dead on arrival. This is the 2nd mass casualty the hospital has handled in recent days, and the 23rd of the year so far," the health center stated on Twitter.

On Friday, at least 53 people were killed and 110 were injured in a suicide attack on an educational center in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, which is home to the minority Shia Hazara ethnic community.

On Sept. 23, a car bomb exploded outside a mosque in the capital, killing at least seven people and injuring 41 others, including children, as worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers.

In recent months, the ISIS/Daesh terrorist group has intensified its activity in many parts of the country, posing a threat to the Taliban's security, which regained power in August of last year.